Ba Bay y La Lake ke Ar Area ea Hi History tory: : Rai ailro lroad ads s & Mi & Mining ing on the he Cuy uyun una a Ran ange ge This is is is a s story y of rail ilroads, ds, min inin ing, im immig igration ion and entreprene preneurs urs . It in includ udes es vis isio ionari ries, es, gutsy sy men makin ing ris isky, hig igh stakes es in investments, ments, boom a and bust towns s and workers, rs, many of them m im immig igrants, nts, toil ilin ing in in a a dir irty and dangerous rous envir ironment ment . A At best, it it is is s summa mary ry. . It only covers rs a a few of the ke key char aracte cters rs an and events. ts. If it it s spar arks ks an an in interest, st, lear arn where e an and how you can buy t the Cuyuna na Country ry His istorical ical Preserv ervatio tion n Socie iety ty books by goin ing to the His istory ory Proje ject ct page on BayLake.o e.org rg. . Bay Lake is is only a f few mil iles from the southern ern edge of the Cuyuna Iron Range. e. Dura Du rati tion: Ab About t 10 m min inutes tes. Clic ick or r scro roll to to advan ance th the sl slid ides. Cre redit it goes to to all of th f the re real his isto toria rians and auth thors rs who have writ ritten ten a about t our a r are rea. See th the la last t slid ide for the sources. The accuracy of the details isn’t guaranteed, but the basics are true. Questi tions or c r comments ts : C Conta tact t Pa Paul Eric rickson at t eric ricksonpaulsue@ao aol.c .com
Keep eep Th These ese Peo eople, ple, Dat ates es & & Facts acts In In Mi Mind 1852: Cuyler Adams 1861: George Crosby was was born in Canton, Il. born in Hastings, Mn. 1858: Minnesota Statehood 1860: The Civil War Other than logging, our area was an undeveloped frontier until 1871.
Ra Railro lroad ad Ex Expa pans nsio ion n & & Im Immi migrat gration ion In 1871, the Northern Pacific Railroad reached Withington (later renamed 1870 Deerwood) paving the way for immigration. For the next 40 years, the NPRR was the only railroad in this area.
Cuy Cuyler ler Ad Adam ams In In 1870, 0, Cuyler ler Adams, ms, 18, who came e from m a “well to do” family, went to NE Minnesota to “trade & trap”. While there he learned about mining ing from om men seek eking ng iron ore on what later became me the Vermil million ion Range. e. When he heard about the NP’s expansion plans he bought t large e quantities tities of NP stock ck which ch he later er exchan hanged ged for 100,000 ,000 acres es of North th Dako kota ta farml mlan and d (that t the US Govern ernme ment t had given n to the NP as an incenti tive ve to build their eir transconti continen nenta tal l line). e). He then moved ved to Nor orth th Dakot ota a wher ere he sold d his holdin ings gs to new farmers mers at a substa tantial ntial profit. fit. In 1878, In 8, he used ed some me of his fortune tune to purch chas ase e prime me timber er land south uth of Deer eerwood wood and to build a home me on Reno o Lake. e.
George Geo rge Cr Cros osby by In In 1886, 6, Geor orge ge Cros osby, , 25, went to the Hibbing area to search arch for iron n ore. e. He was highly ly succe cessful ful and became me wealt lthy hy by selling ling and leasing ng his claims ms to mining ing compan panie ies. s. Whi hile le on the Mesab abi Range, e, he felt the living conditi tions ons of the miner ers s was deplora plorable le .
Cuyler’s Discovery In 1888, (t (two years s after r George ge Crosby went to look for ore on the Mesabi i Range) e) whil ile surveyin eying g his is land SW of Deerwood, Cuyler’s compass moved erratically and, based on what at he had ad lear arned ed on the Vermillio illion n Ran ange, e, he suspec ecte ted that t there e was ir iron ore . He spent the next two years s explori ring ng the area , learnin ing g about min inin ing and securi ring ng the most promisi ising g sit ites. . He concluded there was a “north range” north of Serpent Lake and a “south range” south of Deerwood. Unlike the Mesabi Range, ge, the ore was well below the surface. ce. In 1901 (a (after r 13 years s of secrecy) recy), he told W. C. Whit ite, e, a well established and connected Duluth lawyer (who he’d known n whil ile in in N North h Dakota) who owned a s summer mer home near r him im on Reno Lake. Whit ite e would become his is partner er and prim imary ry connect ectio ion n to in investors ors. (Adams wasn’t the first person to believe there was iron ore in this area. At least three unsucce uccessful sful attempts mpts were made to fin ind ore deposits its between 1862 and 1883.)
Cu Cuy y & Un & Una As s he explore lored d the area a Cu Cuyle ler was s consiste nsistentl tly accompan mpanied ied by his St. Ber ernar ard, d, Una. Eventua entually ly, , the area a became me known wn as the Cuyun yuna Range. e.
The “Iron Ore Rush” From19 1900 00 to 1910, events s unfolded ded dramatica tically lly and rapid idly. . Explo loration ration was extensiv ensive. e. Land nd values s rose and fell on rumors. rs. Adams ms & Whit ite formed ed Oreland nd Min inin ing Company y wit ith plans to min ine southw hwes est t of Deerw rwood od and south h of Rabbit it L Lake. George ge Crosby came to the area and secure ured d land near Rabbit it Lake e in in 1905. Rememb mberin ing g the deplora rable e condit ition ions s on the Mesabi i Range, e, Crosby founded ed the town of Crosby whic ich he Drilling Rig desig igned ned to hig igher stan anda dards. ds. Knowi owing g many of the min iners s would be im immig igrants nts (t (that t had been recruit uited ed on the docks in in D Duluth) th), Crosb sby buil ilt afforda dable housin ing g on lots large e enough gh for vegetable gardens ns. Many of his is “Honeymoon Row” houses are still in use today. After er dis isappoin inting ting results ts SW of Deerwoo wood, , Adams ms found hig igh qualit ity y ore on his is Rabbit it Lake sit ite in in 1909. Overni night ht the town of Cuyuna na became a boom t town and the new town of Crosby grew to a p populatio tion n of 3,000 by 1910.
Ra Rail ilro road ad Ser Servic vice Recogniz cognizin ing that the mines es would ld need d rail trans nspo portati rtation on for outbound und iron ore e and inbound nd suppli plies es, Cu Cuyle ler Adams ms began negoti otiat ations ions with the Northe thern n Pacific c rega garding ding rates es and the 4 miles es of connecti ecting ng track ck that would ld be requi quired red between en Deer eerwood wood and the Rabbit Lake e site. e. The Northern Pacific wouldn’t give Adams what t he wanted ed so he began secr cret discuss cussions ions with Soo Line Preside esident, nt, Ed Pennington. Although the Soo Line didn’t have ve track k in the area, a, they needed ded a direc rect t route oute from om North th Dakota ota to Duluth uth for wheat eat shipm pments ts. . They hey soon n struck uck a deal .
Railroad “End Run” Rabbit Lake Site As part of his is agreeme ement nt wit ith the Soo Lin ine, Adams s formed ed the Cuyuna na Iron Range e Rail ilro road, d, and began buil ildin ing track from the Rabbit it L Lake sit ite toward rd Ait itkin in. Every ryon one e , in includin ing g the NP, the town of Ait itkin in and land specula ulato tors rs, thought ht the new rai ailroa oad d would connec ect t wit ith the NP an and that at Ait itki kin would be t the hub. But then the Soo Lin ine suddenl enly y announced nced and buil ilt a n new northern ern lin ine down through gh McGregor. Adam’s kept laying track beyond Aitkin to connect with the new line at what would become Lawler ……..and then sold the Cuyuna Iron Range Railroad to the Soo Line.
Mo More re Mi Mine nes, s, Mo More re Rai Railr lroads oads Rabbit Lake Sites Thrommald Crosby Ironton Riverton Deerwood As more min ines were opened, d, more rail il connect ectio ions ns were e needed ed. . Havin ing sold the Cuyuna Iron n Range Rail ilroad d to the Soo Lin ine, Adams s then formed ed the Cuyuna Northern hern Rail ilroad d to serve e the new location ions s . This is tim ime he connecte cted d his is rail ilroad d to the NP. I In1914, 4, he sold it it to the Northern hern Pacif ific ic .
NP/ P/Soo oo Li Line ne Jo Joint nt Ope peratin ing g Ag Agree eeme ment nt In In 1925, 5, the Soo Line determi termined ned that their ir ore e dock k in Duluth uth neede ded d extens tensive ve repai airs s and, rather her than inves est more e money, ey, they negotia iated ted a Joint nt Operating ating Agree eeme ment nt that allowed wed their ir cars to unload ad at the NP ore re dock k in 1928. 8. A year later the two railroad oads s agreed eed to merge ge their ir Cuyun una a Range e operations erations leading ing to the remo moval l of tracka ckage ge and depots ots that were e no longe ger r neede ded. d.
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